Mechanically Operated Random Access Memory (MORAM) Based on an Electrostatic Microswitch for Nonvolatile Memory Applications

We proposed and demonstrated a mechanically operated random access memory (MORAM) based on an electrostatically actuated metallic microswitch for nonvolatile memory applications. The metallic microswitch-based MORAM successfully showed program and erase operations, wherein the microswitch had an essentially zero off current, an abrupt switching with less than 1 mV/dec, and an on/off current ratio over $ \hbox{10}^{7}$, and its stored charge was investigated with the metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitor. Moreover, first reported were an endurance of up to $\hbox{10}^{5}$ cycles in air ambient and a retention time of more than $\hbox{10}^{4}$ s in vacuum ambient.